Spitball Pitch Baseball sports art painting

Spitball pitch definition (thank you Wikipedia)

A spitball pitch is an illegal pitch in which the ball has
been altered by the application of saliva, petroleum jelly, or some other
foreign substance. The pitch causes the ball to move atypically due to the
altered wind-resistance and weight on one side of the ball. Alternative names
for the spitball are

spitter, mud ball, shine ball and emery ball, although
technically, an emery ball is one where the ball has been abraded in much the
same way that the original cut ball had been physically cut. The altering of
the ball's state by the use of artificial substances such as sun block, dirt or
degradation by fingernails or other hard substances is illegal tampering.

Spitball Questions

So, there is a question to be asked: Anybody throwing spitball pitchesanymore? Not many as there are so many
cameras on the pitcher it is hard for the pitcher to disguise putting some sort
of crap on the baseball. Another question to be asked: How does a normal “spitballer” get the “spit”
or the doctoring onto the ball. Some
players would put some sort of odd substance on their uniform or body between
innings then wipe it onto the ball. For
example, some put petroleum jelly or sunscreen or hair cream on their head then
wipe it onto the ball (Try doing this unseen by cameras and zoom lenses). Umpires would come out and check the uniforms
and body of players. One player put
Vaseline on his pants zipper knowing that the umpire was not going to check
there. If the pitcher has a great friend on the infield the friend can always
put some “spit” on the ball and throw it to the pitcher. But that can be a bit messy when the pitcher
catches the ball.

Like any good thief a good spitball throwing pitcher hardly
ever caught so we don’t know how often the pitch is thrown. Most pitchers overestimate their ability to
throw a spitball pitch and when questioned by the umpire stutter nervously, and
breathe irregularly. They start looking
around as if searching for an easy exit.
So, to be a good spitballer you have to have the dexterity hide your
handling of the ball to manipulate it to get the “spit” onto it. To see if you are dexterous enough, using
india ink, write the Lord's Prayer thrice on a piece of paper the size of apostage stamp. This is going to test your honesty to the lord and dexterity,
and, of course, if you can do both, then you don’t need or want to throw a
spitball.